C(l)inical Nightmare | 5-Minute Freewrite Sunday Prompt (a curse)

hlezama (67)in #freewrite • 6 years ago (edited)

Greetings, everyone

This is my entry to the #freewrite 5-minute exercise hosted by @mariannewest. See details here.

C(l)inical Nightmare

Ignorance is bliss, they say; I say it’s a course. Ignorance made them sell their friends and family. Ignorance made them cheer for a mediocre, resentful clown. Ignorance made them defend the indefensible.

The ER was crowded, as always. Even though he was limping, he knew the limping was not the reason why he was there.
He somehow knew it was a more serious matter. He pictured a scalpel in his mind. They were passing 5 patients at a time. He was 6th in the line and from the ER entrance he could see the hectic scene. They had to accommodate inside a big room crowded with beds, files, and chairs.

At some point he turned around but the place did not look so crowded anymore. It was as if a long time had passed without his noticing it and he was about to be called.

[End of 5 minutes]

Once inside he was taken to a section where several beds were lined against a peeling wall. He found himself in front of a big tall bed occupied by a fat old lady with whom he was supposed to share it. He showed his resistance crossing his arms around his chest.

-Share my ass, and at a hospital, of all places.
Then, he saw the lady get up and walk away. But, just as quickly, there was a body on the bed and dark blue sheets all wrinkled covered the lower half of it. He noticed something moving by the patient’s feet. He signaled the nurse, who came closer and shuffled the messy sheets to reveal a large rat.
He snatched a metal board from the nurse and hit the rat with it. The nurse crawled around trying unsuccessfully to capture it.

He lay back on the assigned bed, which now looked more like a barber’s seat. A man extended a piece of paper over his shoulder. He saw on it words and phrases he might have written once and some scribbles and circles highlighting key words. His first reaction was to ask what that meant.

-Don’t you recognize your work? The guy asked pacing back and forth.
-I did not write this, he said, trying to put all the pieces together in his mind.
-You are a traitor, the guy uttered angrily. And you come to one of our hospitals!
-Your hospital? What the fuck do you mean by yours? Your government did not build a single new hospital here in 20 years. You are a disgrace; you are a curse! Do you even know the difference between State and Government? Do you know what it means to have rights?

-You are a conspirator, the guy said slowly and emphatically.
-Do you fucking know the difference between State and Government? He repeated louder, somehow forgetting his vulnerable position.

Another nurse popped in and he saw a familiar face. She looked younger, healthier better than the colleague he knew some years ago.

He suddenly remembered having seeing her in front of the governor’s palace the day before. She shot a sorry looked at him and turn around. He knew he was done, alone and surrounded. He also knew he had written all that. He also knew he’d do it all over again if he had to.

He saw the butcher approach.